One of the two corporate owners of ABC affiliate stations that were refusing to air Jimmy Kimmel Live has caved.
The Trump-friendly Sinclair has announced that their ABC stations will resume airing Jimmy Kimmel on Friday night.
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Sinclair made the announcement in a statement:
Our objective throughout this process has been to ensure that programming remains accurate and engaging for the widest possible audience. We take seriously our responsibility as local broadcasters to provide programming that serves the interests of our communities, while also honoring our obligations to air national network programming.
Over the last week, we have received thoughtful feedback from viewers, advertisers, and community leaders representing a wide range of perspectives. We have also witnessed troubling acts of violence, including the despicable incident of a shooting at an ABC affiliate station in Sacramento. These events underscore why responsible broadcasting matters and why respectful dialogue between differing voices remains so important.
In our ongoing and constructive discussions with ABC, Sinclair proposed measures to strengthen accountability, viewer feedback, and community dialogue, including a network-wide independent ombudsman. These proposals were suggested as collaborative efforts between the ABC affiliates and the ABC network. While ABC and Disney have not yet adopted these measures, and Sinclair respects their right to make those decisions under our network affiliate agreements, we believe such measures could strengthen trust and accountability.
Our decision to preempt this program was independent of any government interaction or influence. Free speech provides broadcasters with the right to exercise judgment as to the content on their local stations. While we understand that not everyone will agree with our decisions about programming, it is simply inconsistent to champion free speech while demanding that broadcasters air specific content.
As a company rooted in local stations, Sinclair remains committed to serving our communities with programming that reflects their priorities, earns their trust, and promotes constructive dialogue. We look forward to continuing to work with ABC to deliver content that serves a broad spectrum of our communities.
Sinclair tried to get concessions from ABC to muzzle Kimmel. ABC said no, so Sinclair said ok, and announced that they will return to airing the show.
What is really going on is that Sinclair could only refuse to air the show for a limited period of time before being in breach of their contract with ABC, so they had to resume airing Jimmy Kimmel at some point.
The big factor was viewer protest. The Sinclair stations were being hammered by viewers who wanted to watch Jimmy Kimmel. On top of the protest, the stations were going to lose revenue because Kimmel was replaced with Celebrity Family Feud reruns on Sinclair, and it is a safe guess that millions of people were not tuning in for that.
This is a victory for free speech because even Sinclair could not deny the demands of viewers.
Trump’s bid to get Kimmel fired has virtually fallen apart. Nexstar is still refusing to air the show, but public pressure and popular will are winning.
What do you think about Sinclair caving? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
